


Little Secret

by KairaKara101



Series: Luche Lazarus - The Alpha Cat of Insomnia [5]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Luche Lazarus is a Single Father, Single Parents, cat whisperer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 12:35:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13834395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KairaKara101/pseuds/KairaKara101
Summary: Luche has a little secret that not many people know about. Unfortunately, that secret decided to come see him while he was at Kingsglaive Headquarters, which led the other glaives to learn something new about their appointed leader.





	Little Secret

**Author's Note:**

> This story got out of hand. Then I fell into a slump or something (still sort of am, but I am trying) and it has taken me so long to get this one out. It has been sitting in the drafts for over a month. 
> 
> Anyway, I present thee with a fic about my headcanons of Luche being a single father! And since I almost seem incapable of writing long Luche fics without some type of appearance from his army of stray cats entering the scene! You get those adorable cats and the Alpha Cat of Insomnia as well! Anyways, Enjoy!

It was an ordinary day for most of the glaives. There weren't any missions so most were training or lazing about in the lounge. The heavy front door creaked open slowly as the little girl walked into the Kingsglaive Headquarters glancing around her surroundings catching the attention of the glaive on reception duty.

“Hello, are you lost?” the glaive questioned as they walked around the reception table to kneel down in front of the little girl. She gave the glaive a look with a tilt of her head and noticed their uniform and smiled brightly.

“No, sir. I'm looking for my Papa,” she replied slowly as if trying to speak clearly before pulling on her backpack straps readjusting them.

“Uh... do you know you-”

“Hey, what's a kid doing here?” Tredd inquired staring at the little blonde girl with a raised brow. She studied Tredd with her eyes and nodded to herself.

“Uh, she came in looking for her dad,” the glaive said shrugging nervous, they've never dealt with kids this young before.

“You're telling me that there's a glaive here that's your dad?” Tredd stated calmly. She nodded slowly.

“Oh a cute kid,” Libertus said as he came into the lobby with Nyx and Crowe making the other two stop mid-conversation.

“Hello,” she greeted with a slight bow only to snap up as voices were heard around the corner. Her eyes brightened as she ran past Nyx, Libertus, and Crowe.

“Ah, you ca-” the glaive started only to stop as Drautos walked into view speaking to Luche and Pelna about something.

“PAPA!” the little girl yelled out happily as the trio glanced up from their conversation. The other glaives all stare at the scene with wide eyes. Who's the father out of the three? If it was the captain, some of them were just going to faint from the shock. The little girl ran towards the trio before jumping into Luche's arms.

“Hey sweetie,” Luche said softly with a rare smile that the glaives could only blink in shock, while Pelna smirked at their shock.

“Papa!” she said as she nuzzled her cheeks against his shoulder clinging to him. Luche turned to give Drautos a sheepish smile.

“My apologies, sir,” Luche stated calmly as he adjusted his grip on her.

“No, it's alright,” Drautos replied calmly watching as the little girl patted Luche's shoulder urgently.

“Papa, could you put me down please?” She inquired with a bright smile. Luche nodded as he let her down. She brushed away the imaginary dust and straightening up her outfit before standing straight and glancing up at Drautos.

“Hello sir, I'm Lana Lazarus. It's nice to meet you. And thank you for taking care of my Papa,” Lana greeted smiling up at Drautos while extending her small hand.

“It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Titus Drautos, and I should be thanking your Papa for always helping me,” Drautos replied while grasping her hand only to blink in surprise with her firm grip and eye contact before he released her hand, “she is definitely your child, Luche.”

“Thank you, sir,” Luche replied calmly giving Lana a subtle wink making her giggle softly.

“We'll finish this conversation tomorrow,” Drautos stated as he gave Luche and Pelna a nod, “you'll excuse me.” Lana watched as Drautos walked away and quickly turned her attention back to Luche.

“Lana,” Luche said calmly glancing down at his daughter, “mind telling me why you're at HQ instead of where I dropped you off this morning?” Pelna smiled amusedly as he watched Lana look around the room nervously everywhere but at Luche's face.

“Um...,” Lana squeaked out as she twiddled her fingers.

“Did you break another kid's nose?” Luche stated calmly after a moment of silence. Luche sighed softly as he knelt down to her eye level, “Lana, what did I say about punching the lights out on people?”

“To not do it because violence is bad, unu,” Lana replied quietly staring at her boots.

“And?”

“And I could have given them... a con-concussion?” she said uncertain but took a chance to glance up at Luche, who released a breath and patted her on the head gently.

“Well, good that you know,” Luche said as he pushed himself up to the sight of all the glaives giving him varying expressions at the scene, “what?” Lana grabbed Luche's hand as she turned to see all of the glaives staring at them.

“You have a fucking kid?” Tredd exclaimed once his mouth started working again.

“Yes, and please watch your language around my child,” Luche stated calmly as he squeezed Lana's hand gently.

“She's cute, Luche,” Nyx said as he came over to meet Lana. She smiled up at him.

“Is this Uncle Nyx, Papa?”

“He's right there, why don't you ask him?” Luche motioned with his free hand. She nodded quickly as she came forward to stand in front of Nyx.

“Are you Uncle Nyx? Papa has told me stories unu,” Lana inquired with a cute little smile.

“Yes, I'm Nyx Ulric...,” Nyx stared at Luche with a raised brow, “you told her stories?”

“Our adventures as glaives make great bedtime stories,” Luche deadpanned with a straight face.

“I love the stories!” Lana said with a bright smile, “and it's nice to finally meet you, Uncle Nyx.” Lana noticed Libertus, Crowe, and Tredd walking over and waved at them brightly, “Uncle Libertus, Aunt Crowe, Mr. Furia!” Tredd glared at Luche when she said his last name offended. Luche shrugged in response.

“She knows our names,” Libertus pointed out with a smile.

“Of course she does,” Pelna spoke up for the first time, “she's Luche's child.” Lana smiled widely as she ran over to hug Pelna, “hey Lana, how have you been?”

“I've been well, Uncle Pelna!”

Luche watched as Lana spoke with the glaives animatedly and felt his heart hurt slightly. It hasn't even been that many years since that horrible day. All Luche remembered from that night he got the news was his raw bleeding knuckles, how was he supposed to raise Lana by himself, and the pounding headache the next morning.

“...pa, Papa!”

Luche shook his head gently and gave Lana a small smile.

“What is it, sweetie?”

Lana glanced at the glaives for a brief second before turning to smile brightly at Luche.

“Papa, can we have hotpot for dinner?” Lana inquired tilting her head with her puppy eyes. Luche glanced at the glaives and saw them all looking at him intently making him release an exhausted breath.

“I don't suppose you mean just you and I, do you?” Luche stated softly as Lana nodded quickly, “fine, we'll have hotpot for dinner,” he looked at the glaives, “you're all invited. Pelna, since you know where we'll be. Could you lead them there? I need to go figure out which child got a broken nose.”

“Sure thing, Luche,” Pelna answered and waved them off, “get going. We'll see you there.” Luche smiled and nodded to them before taking Lana's hand.

“Come on, sweetie,” Luche stated softly, “we should apologize to the child and parents.” Lana pouted as she held onto his hand tightly and they left Headquarters.

“I don't think I'm completely in the wrong, Papa,” Lana stated calmly as she followed after Luche back toward the school.

“No, I don't believe you were, sweetie. But it's still wrong to resort to violence,” Luche replied squeezing her hand gently.

“I love you, Papa,” Lana whispered softly burying her face in his side. Luche smiled as he brought his hand to ruffle her hair.

“I love you too, sweetie,” Luche replied with a pleasant smile as he continued to walk toward the school.

Once they arrived, Lana's teacher gasped and came over and Luche plastered a pleasant smile on his face.

“Hello, Miss. Aris. My apologies for Lana's behavior,” Luche said in greeting.

“Hello, Mr. Lazarus. This is the second time in three months,” she pointed out calmly as she sighed softly, “it was Mrs. Sunna's boy that was on the other end of your daughter's punch. They got into an argument about you in particular.”

“Me? I see. I do apologize Ms. Aris for all the trouble,” Luche said with a sheepish smile before glancing down at Lana, “this will not happen again.” Lana nodded slowly in agreement.

“I do hope so, Mr. Lazarus. Any more foul play and she will be suspended,” Ms. Aris stated calmly while giving Lana a half smile. They both thanked Ms. Aris before walking away from the school towards the hospital to locate the boy and his parents.

“She doesn't like me, unu,” Lana said plainly as she held onto Luche's hand as they crossed the street.

“Why do you think that?” Luche questioned as they continued to the closest hospital.

“Papa, she gives Lana that feeling unu.”

They walked into the hospital and asked for Mrs. Sunna's boy. When they arrived at the door, Lana squeezed Luche's hand tightly which he squeezed back reassuringly. Once they knocked on the door, a female voice echoed back to them and Luche gave Lana a reassuring smile.

“We'll be alright, Lana sweetie,” Luche whispered softly, “come on, let's get this over with so we can both enjoy that hotpot.” When the two of them enter the room, they see how the boy was doing with his injury all fixed up and his mother sat at his bedside.

“Ah, Mr. Lazarus,” Mrs. Sunna drawled out with a cold undertone which Luche answered with a pleasant smile.

“Mrs. Sunna, we came to apologize for your son's injury. I will be speaking with my daughter about her behavior later,” Luche stated calmly as he gave Mrs. Sunna a bow in apology. Luche knows all about these type of people and kept his face as pleasant as possible even though underneath he did want to tear her cold expression off.

“Your apology is accepted, Mr. Lazarus. Please see to it that this doesn't happen again,” Mrs. Sunna stated as she sat next to the bed. Luche nodded slowly making Lana give her an apology and bow in response.

“We'll be leaving. I hope your son has a swift recovery,” Luche stated before he ushered Lana out of the room. Luche kept a hand on her shoulder as they walked to the hotpot place.

“Papa?”

“Yeah Lana sweetie?” Luche replied as they moved through people walking at a nice pace in comfortable silence.

“Do you think I can make art school?” She glanced up to Luche with the widest eyes since the last time she wanted something so badly which if Luche's being honest was like that morning.

“Yes. And sweetie, I don't think. I know you will,” Luche answered smiling down at her, “now first things first. Hotpot. And we're going to show those glaives how to do it.”

“Unu!! We'll show them!” Lana cheered smiling widely reminding him a bit of her mother. They shared the same smile.

Luche listened as Lana went on to tell him about her day while they made their way towards the place. When they arrived, the place was almost full with people being served or waiting to be served. Lana smiled widely as she licked her lips in anticipation.

“Lu, Lana, welcome back!” An elderly gentleman greeted with a wide smile.

“We're back, Jiji,” Luche greeted smiling in return.

“Your party is waiting for you in the party room,” Jiji replied softly patting Luche on the shoulder before leaning down to pinch Lana's cheek, “thank you for your hard work, Lu.”

“Of course, you need any help?” Luche stated calmly smiling as Lana bounced on her heels excitedly.

“Nah, I believe we have enough staff tonight for you to relax with your friends and Lana,” Jiji answered calmly, “now run along you two. I believe Pelna went ahead and ordered for the table.”

“Good to know, Jiji. We'll be going. Come, Lana, let's get some food.”

“Unu! Hotpot!” Lana agreed as she pulled on Luche's arm tugging him in the direction of the party room, “I hope Uncle Pelna got the spicy one!”

“He knows our tastes sweetie,” Luche replied letting her lead him to the room, “there's no reason to worry about the pot. I worry more about the Glaives' tongues and if they're going to be able to handle the spicy.”

“They're all impressive, Papa. Surely, they wouldn't get defeated by a pot of broth?” Lana said softly tilting her head. 

“You never know,” Luche replied softly, “you can never judge a book by the cover well.”

“But you still can judge it a bit, Papa,” Lana replied grinning, “why else would people put so much effort in the cover?” Luche laughed quietly before leaning down to leave a kiss on her forehead.

“Of course sweetie,” Luche smiled as he opened the door to the private party room to see the glaives already drinking.

“Hey, Luche! How did the meetings go?” Pelna greeted smiling amused as Luche watched as Lana ran inside to sit next to Pelna.

“It went fine all considering,” Luche answered as he waved to the others and sat down next to Lana. Nyx glanced up from his spot across from Luche taking a sip of his beer.

“I never pegged you to be a dad,” Nyx stated pointing with his pointer finger. Luche scoffed amused.

“No one expects it, Nyx,” Luche replied as he watched Lana go through her routine of setting up her bowls and sauces, “not many glaives are parents, after all, it's a dangerous occupation.”

“When?”

Pelna smiled into his drink before ruffling Lana's hair fondly. Luche looked at Lana as she grabbed some of the mushrooms to dip into the broth.

“Years ago. It's been some time since then,” Luche said as Lana put the cooked mushrooms in Luche's bowl with a smile before she went back for more, “thank you, Lana.”

“Unu! Sausage?”

“Sure, but Lana go ahead and eat,” Luche replied softly ruffling her hair.

“Okay, Papa,” she said as she dropped some mini sausages in his bowl. Luche watched her as she filled her bowl up with noodles, sausages, and mushrooms before munching on it.

“Pelna you knew?”

“Yeah, I've watched her a few times. Honestly, I happened to come across Luche and Lana one day and was really surprised that he had a child,” Pelna stated as he grabbed some tofu.

“I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you have a kid, Luche,” Tredd pointed out as he pointed a fork at him. Lana hummed happily as she ate some tofu. She glanced up blinking before turning her head to look at Luche. She tugged on his sleeve and pointed at his bowl. He kissed her forehead as Tredd made a face.

“You're surprisingly disgusting with a kid,” Tredd said in response.

“Why didn't you tell us?” Libertus inquired ignoring Tredd's comment. Luche munched on the food quietly thinking before smiling softly.

“Some of you are bad influences for one. Secondly, I don't think I wanted to share that piece of information with you guys.”

“Pfft, you're just afraid that we'd take your daughter away from you,” Crowe pointed out before she slurped on the ramen noodles. Lana peeked up at the group before attaching herself to Luche's arm tightly.

“No. Lana stays with Papa,” Lana cried out making the others blink in shock. Luche smiled amusedly at their shocked faces.

“Lana sweetie, it's okay,” Luche replied softly, kissing the crown of her head, “they're not going to take you away. Papa wouldn't let them anyway.”

“Unu!” Lana said with a relieved smile burying her face into his shoulder. Luche gave her another kiss on her head before leaning down near her ear whispering words softly. The glaives watched as Lana nodded slowly and released her death grip on Luche's arm. She returned to eating the hotpot quietly but kept herself as close as she could to Luche as if she was afraid of them taking her away. Luche kept one arm wrapped around her as he ate with one hand.

“Ah... sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, Lana,” Crowe stated with a sheepish smile. Pelna laid some mini sausages into her bowl.

“It's okay, Aunt Crowe. Thank you, Uncle Pelna,” Lana replied so softly that the glaives all shared a glance with each other. Pelna pulled Lana in for a tight hug and whispered quiet words into her ear.

Luche closed his eyes briefly. He wasn't going to tell Lana or the glaives about what happened though he should have told the glaives not to joke about that. Hindsight twenty twenty indeed. Pelna knew bits and pieces of the event that made Lana scared of being taken away. If it wasn't for his self-control that event probably would have ended up with people dead and him in jail for murder. There was no one alive that can take Lana from him. He's not afraid of killing people to get her back either. She latched herself back to Luche's side as soon as the hug ended and continued munching on the food.

The rest of the meal continued with the glaives poking fun at Luche for hiding his cute daughter from them. Eventually, Lana seemed to brighten up again and started talking with them without the stress of being taken away. Luche sat back and drank from his cup of tea. Libertus was showing Lana the merits of good chopstick skills. Nyx tapped Luche's feet from underneath the table catching his attention.

“You alright?”

Luche nodded and relaxed tiredly.

“It's been a long day, Nyx. With the amount of paperwork there is when we're not on missions, I almost wished for missions more often,” Luche answered quietly sipping his tea, “except that would keep me away from her more often and not.” Nyx nodded and called for the bill. When Luche was about to make a move to stop him, Nyx smiled and shook his head.

“It's fine. We got the bill this time,” Nyx replied calmly, “plus, let's say its a gift for little Lana.” Luche sighed letting Nyx do whatever he wanted. It doesn't matter if it was out in the field or back in Insomnia, Nyx only listens when he wants to listen.

“Alright gang, let's head out. We have an early morning tomorrow,” Pelna stated as he chipped in some money to pay the bill and stood up, “I'll see you later Lana. Take care of Luche for me.”

“Unu! Of course, Uncle Pelna. Be safe on your way back,” Lana replied smiling widely waving to the others as they said their goodbyes. Lana hugged Luche tiredly as she yawned.

“Come on, sweetie. Let's go home,” Luche said softly nudging her gently.

“Unuu...” Lana replied sleepily making Luche bend down to pick her up to walk home. There was a quiet mew and Luche glanced down to see Night and Storm walking with him.

“Hey, Night, Storm,” Luche greeted softly as they meowed in reply. They walked home in relative silence as Lana had fallen asleep snuggling up against his chest.

“Meow?” Night purred as he jumped onto the wall to walk.

“No, she's just full and tired from her exciting day,” Luche replied quietly kissing Lana's forehead.

“Meow meow?” Storm questioned as she hopped up next to Night.

“Not exactly the way I imagined, to be honest,” Luche answered as he turned onto the street that held their little but comfy home. Night and Storm ran ahead to get the heater started and to grab the blankets. Luche balanced Lana on his hip as he dug for his keys only for the door to open with a cheeky Night sitting on the floor with his tail swishing back and forth. Luche shook his head amused as he walked inside and closed the door with his foot. Night jumped up and locked the door before following after Luche who went towards one of the bedrooms.

“Papa?” Lana murmured softly as she rubbed her little eyes. Night sat on her bed watching the scene unfold while Storm was around the house somewhere.

“Hey, sweetie. We're home.”

“Bath.”

Luche laughed softly as he put her down so she could quickly head over to the dresser to grab her pajamas. She came over to Luche glancing up at him with a tired smile and a bundle of cloth in her arms.

“Bubbles?”

Glancing down at his watch, he gave her a tired smile.

“It's late, but I suppose a bubble bath won't hurt anyone,” Luche replied softly letting her lead him to the bathroom to get the bath started. Lana opened the cabinet looking for the bubbles while Luche turned on the water and went about getting the water to a nice temperature. Lana bound over with the bottle and handed it to him. She leaned against his side as he poured the liquid into the running water. He kissed her on the cheek smiling as she giggled.

“Thank you, Papa,” she said as he stood up drying his hands on a towel.

“You're welcome, Lana. Call me if you need help alright? Papa's going to be in the kitchen,” Luche stated softly while she nodded and pushed him out of the room. He heard the door lock before he walked out and headed to the kitchen rubbing his temple tiredly.

Leaning against the counter, Luche took a slow and deep breath before exhaling. His shoulders were tense from the day's work and all of those meetings. He still needed to make sure Lana did her homework and had lunch prepared for her. By the Six, there was still so much on his list of things to do. For now, Luche pushed all other thoughts aside as he went about preparing Lana's lunch.

Has it really been that many years since that horrible day? Luche went about pulling out the ingredients only to pause as he saw phantoms of her moving about the kitchen making him shake his head dispelling her ghost from the room. Every little thing in the house reminded him of her, though it was Lana that reminded him of her the most. He assembled the sandwich absently. Lana's laughter and eyes reminded him so much of her mother. He closed his eyes as he leaned against the counter. His heart ached so much at her memory that he had trouble taking in enough air to breath. People said that time heals all wounds, but he wasn't sure it would ever heal enough for him to be able to breathe. Luche finished up the sandwich and packed it in a nice little container and put it in the fridge.

The sounds of footsteps brought Luche out of his funk and he glanced up to see Lana standing in the doorway in her pajamas with Storm in her arms and Night at her feet. Luche smiled tiredly as he walked over to the doorway and knelt down in front of her.

“Did you enjoy your bath, sweetie?”

“Yup made a lot of bubble art and all!” Lana said happily like she was energized by the warm bath making Luche chuckle with amusement. He smiled tiredly at her.

“Well then sweetie, I have a question for you,” Luche stated softly as he stared into her eyes, “did you finish your homework?”

“Unu, I finished it while I was on the subway,” Lana replied quietly holding onto Storm. Night licked his paw and waited patiently near her feet, “Papa, could you read me a bedtime story?”

“Of course, sweetie,” Luche replied softly, “do you have a book you want to read?”

“Unu!” Lana said with a bright smile.

“Alright, sweetie. Lead the way,” Luche stated softly as she nodded and grabbed his hand while he stood up. He followed her with a gentle smile while Night followed after them with his tail swishing back and forth. Storm purred as she squirmed out of Lana's arm.

Luche pulled a chair over once he walked into the room. Climbing onto the bed, Lana made herself comfortable underneath the blankets, pillows, and held onto her Carbuncle plushie. On the nightstand next to the bed was the book that she wanted to hear. Luche got comfortable on the chair and crossed his legs as he opened the book. His voice carried the story through as Lana listened.

After some time, the sound of even breathing brought Luche out of his reading. Closing the book, Luche laid it down on the nightstand and brought the blanket up over her shoulders. He watched her briefly before leaning down and leaving a gentle kiss on her forehead. Walking towards the door, Luche turned the lights off before closing the door and headed off towards his own bedroom.

Once Luche was done with his own preparations for the night, he crawled into this bed to find Storm laying on one of his pillows licking her paw. She purred before curling up and falling asleep. Luche laid there and stared up at the ceiling blankly. Astrals, his eyes hurt from exhaustion and strain but he couldn't seem to fall asleep. He should probably talk to Lana about her feelings on the topic of being taken away. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand before closing his eyes and attempting to fall asleep.

Through the cloud of sleepiness, Luche heard a quiet whine and felt an urgent tug. Blinking his eyes opened, his vision focused on the image of Lana's tear-stained face standing at the edge of his bed with her carbuncle plushie. He pushed himself up onto his arms and rubbed his eyes.

“Lana sweetie, what's the matter?”

“Papa... Lana had a nightmare,” Lana whispered wiping at her eyes. Luche smiled softly and lifted the blankets allowing her space to crawl up. She snuggled against him once he laid the blanket down over them.

“What was the nightmare about?” Luche whispered quietly as he ran his hand gently through her long hair. She sniffled as she buried her face into his chest.

“My classmates were calling me a bastard,” Lana muttered into his shirt as it slowly got wetter from her tears. He closed his eyes as he hugged her in his arms and left a kiss on the crown of her head, “what's a bastard, Papa?”

“That's...,” Luche paused as he thought about the question, “they probably meant it as a child born out of wedlock.”

“Out of wedlock?”

“It means the child parent's weren't married, sweetie,” Luche answered softly as he glanced down at her eyes. She blinked as she held onto her plushie. Lana looked up at him with glassy eyes.

“Was I born out of wedlock, Papa?” Lana inquired as she tightened her hold on her plushie. He kissed her forehead and smiled softly down at her. His hand grabbed a necklace from underneath his shirt and brought it up to show her what was held on it. Glinting from the moonlight was two golden bands sitting against each other on the necklace.

“No, sweetie. You were not born out of wedlock, therefore you are not a bastard. Is this why you broke that kid's nose?” Luche inquired as he allowed her to take the rings into her small little hands while she nodded briefly. She studied the rings when her little fingers felt the engraved letters on the inside of the rings.

“What do these letters mean?” Lana whispered as she stared in awe at the rings.

“It holds your mother's and my name,” Luche replied softly, “and that of our vows to love each other through everything and forevermore.” He watched as Lana smiled with a sleepy expression, “your mother and I loved you so much. Don't forget that, but if you do, I'll keep reminding you.”

“I love you too, Papa,” Lana said softly, “will you tell me about Mama when you have time?”

“Of course sweetie, now sleep,” Luche whispered leaving a brief kiss on her forehead, “It's really late.”


End file.
